Compatible with iOS 6 and designed for iOS 7, this new upgraded experience makes it easier to get started, add SmartThings devices and other popular automation products, and use our app to customize all of the smart things in your home. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve enhanced and added to help you get more value out of SmartThings:

Dashboard: Discover, Configure, MonitorAmong the first new features you’ll notice is a brand-new Dashboard which is organized in an intuitive way so it’s simple to monitor, control, and automate areas of your home. We’ve grouped this into four categories: Home & Family, Doors & Locks, Lights & Switches, and Danger & Damages. (We’’ll be adding to more very soon: Motion & Cameras and Comfort.) When you open up the app, it will offer you a guided tour that shows you what is possible with SmartThings, and how to get started.

Once you’re ready to connect your smart devices, new easy-to-follow prompts within each category make it simple to get your connected devices to do what you want. This means you’ll no longer have to search for a SmartApp that meets your needs, and it’s easier than ever to quickly change how your connected things behave.

After configuring your devices, you can see what’s happening within each category. And… that’s it! You’re all set use SmartThings to control your connected devices with a push of a button from wherever you are.

Hello, Home: Customize, Communicate, AdaptOne of our favorite parts of the new SmartThings experience is called Hello, Home. As the name implies, Hello, Home lets you customize your home to react to your unique daily patterns, and also tell it what you’re up to so it can adapt when your plans and routines change. For those of you who are familiar with “Modes,” Hello, Home makes it much easier to change modes automatically or on the go.

Start by customizing your home to automatically do certain things (or stop doing certain things) when you’re home, away, or asleep. When SmartThings either changes modes or performs different actions at a set time, the app will send you a message. These messages let you see what’s happening in your home now, and what’s happened recently. When your plans change, you can also send your home messages like “I’m back!” or “Goodbye!” and it will automatically adapt to your preferences.

Activity Feed: A Heart Monitor of Your HomeThe “Activity Feed” is found within “Hello, Home.” Here, you can easily see what is happening at a glance with all of your connected devices, see how they’re interacting with each other, and get instant alerts at the first sign of excess water, tampering, or danger.

Quick note to Existing UsersFor those who already have SmartThings, you may be wondering, “How do I find my connected things? Are my SmartApps gone? Do I need to reconfigure everything?” The short answer is all your Things and SmartApps will continue to work the way they have previously. You can use the left-hand menu at any time to switch from the Dashboard to the tile-based view of all your Things.

That said, your Things won’t be visible in the Dashboard until you have configured the Dashboard. We believe that seeing all of your Things in action within the Dashboard is useful, so we encourage you to do this. And to make that migration as easy as possible, you will notice that they can “auto import devices” within the Home & Family and Lights & Switches categories with a simple push of a button. Easy peasy. And totally worth it.

The new app is filled with tons of instructional screens to guide you through the new setup process step by step. Once you’re up and running, we think you’ll find that it offers a much smoother, easier experience. And if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to support@smartthings.com.

Thanks for all of your feedback and support. As we work continuously to provide you with the best possible product, we hope you enjoy this latest improvement.